Tropical depression Flossie - A flood advisory remained in effect for Hawaii Island at least through 6:15 p.m. Tuesday as the brunt of Tropical Storm Flossie moved past Hilo and East Hawaii and began pestering Kailua-Kona and West Hawaii with heavy rains and high winds. The lower Puna and Kau areas appeared to be the most badly hit portions of East Hawaii.
More than 6,000 customers of the Hawaii Electrical Light Co., mostly from Volcano to Pahoa, lost power after high winds knocked down power lines in various areas of Puna. At the peak there were about 6,300 homes and businesses without power. Portions of Kona and Kohala began feeling the brunt of the storm about mid-afternoon. It was the first named storm in more than 20 years to strike the Hawaiian Islands.

Satellite shows ex-Tropical Storm Dorian's remnants elongated from north to south - Former Tropical Storm Dorian has been hanging around the Caribbean Sea for a couple of days, and appears stretched out on satellite imagery. The showers and thunderstorms are disorganized and extend a few hundred miles east and northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The National Hurricane Center noted that upper-level winds are not expected to favor re-development over the next couple of days, as Dorian's remnants move west to northwest. The remnant low is moving 10 to 15 mph, and is expected to bring showers and gusty winds across Turks and Caicos as it moves into portions of the Bahamas.

SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -

Bad weather leaves Japanese stranded - Severe weather in the form of torrential rain continues to affect residents of Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures, as the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned people about the risk of mudslides.
Many residents in these areas of the country have been left stranded by rising rivers whose banks are close to bursting as a result of the recent downpours. Search and rescue missions are therefore being carried out in a bid to reach those isolated by the rain. It is estimated that as many as 480 people were left stranded after roads had been flooded.
It has been confirmed that a 79-year-old died in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture when her house collapsed and a further ten people were injured as a result of the extreme weather conditions. Some 200 people were trapped and then later rescued from a youth centre in Yamaguchi prefecture and a further 200 residents in three districts across Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture were also stranded.

Italy - Tornado Video. A RARE tornado has ripped through a suburb of Milan, injuring 12 people and damaging buildings and vehicles. Video shot by witnesses on their mobile phones captured the twister tearing through an industrial region in Grezzago, leaving a trail of devastation as it destroyed cars, overturned trucks and uprooted telegraph poles.
“We were inside there and a lorry crashed into the wall and came through it. Then all the windows broke and we couldn’t understand what was happening...“Look there is no more roof, no more doors, there’s nothing left.” Witnesses described the incident as terrifying. “It came from over there – the next little town along in Pozzo D’Ada. Then it came through here, Grezzago, then it went towards Trezzo. It lasted, I’m not sure, the time it took, ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.” Firemen, civil protection and other rescue services rushed to the scene. Although no deaths have been reported there are reports of a dozen injuries.

HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -

Two Iowa cities saw RECORD-BREAKING LOW TEMPERATURES during an abnormally chilly July weekend. In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 28, 2013 Dubuque and Burlington both had record-breaking cold nights. In Dubuque, Iowa temperatures fell to 50-degrees, beating the old cool-record of 51-degrees set in 2005. Burlington’s old record of 53-degrees, set in 1981, was beaten by a new record low of 51-degrees.

EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / FIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -

Russia - Did the Arctic region break a heat record? Temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius, or 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit, were recorded in the Siberian city of Norilsk on July 21. The average temperature in
July in the region is 13.6 C, or 56.48 F.
The entire Russian Arctic region has seen warm weather as of late. Norilsk has seen its warmest nights in recent days - some 20.2 C, or 68.26 F - and wildfires have erupted in the region. However, experts disagree as to whether the warm weather spell is a record. According to the Siberian Times, the recent spike broke the 31.9 C (89.42 F) record set three decades ago, while another expert believes the current record stands at 32.2 C (89.96 F).
The month of July has shown extremely fluctuating temperatures. July 1 this year was the coldest measured in many years. Norilsk, the northernmost city in the world. The Siberian town houses 175,000 residents and is built on the permafrost. Temperatures of -60 F (-51 C) are no exception in winter in Siberia, making it one of the coldest inhabited places on earth.
The heat is bad news for firefighters in the region. NASA explains that once the snow melts, the remote region is very susceptible to wildfires. 900 specialists are currently fighting several fires that are already raging in the area. Dozens of Russians were killed by fires during a heat-wave in the summer of 2010, when fire gripped over millions of hectares.

Canada - Hot, dry weather drives up forest fire risk across British Columbia. Almost the entire southern half of B.C. currently has a high or extreme fire danger rating.

U.S. - Texas - Drought causing vegetation to grow in parts of Colorado River. Aquatic vegetation is growing on the river, and it's an eyesore. "You can't like, really, get out [into the water] and refresh, because it just gets all over you." In some parts of the river, it's like a green mat growing on the surface.
"Everybody on the river is feeling the pain of this drought." That drought is actually helping this vegetation grow. "With no inflows into the river, and lots of nutrients, you get this. And it's a combination of algae, it's a combination of weeds, and in portions of the river - the river is impassable."
Nearly two weeks ago, the rains helped clear it out, but it didn't last. As soon as the rain stopped - the weeds came back. "The solution to this situation is going to be a large enough flood to dislodge it and scour the river downstream."
Texas drought - According to the US Drought Monitor, over 90 percent of Texas is experiencing a drought and about 30 percent is in an extreme drought. Texas has been in drought since 2011, the driest year on record.
Harsh Drought Is Drying Up New Mexico's Largest Reservoir. The drought in northern New Mexico is AMONG THE WORST IN 180 YEARS.

Australia - Drought and high demand to push beef exports to record numbers. Record Australian beef exports are forecast to continue in 2013, partially due to high slaughter levels due to drought conditions.

HEALTH THREATS -

Iowa and Nebraska link Cyclospora cases to bagged salad mix - It's not clear if illnesses from the parasite in other states are linked to the same product. The two states were the first to report Cyclospora illnesses and between them have 221 cases.
Epidemiologic and food history interviews with sick patients point to a bagged salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage. The DIA's investigation found that about 80% of the sick patients had been exposed to the same prepackaged salad mix that came from a single source. The salad mix is no longer in Iowa's food supply chain. Because of the delay between eating the contaminated food and getting sick, there were no products on shelves to be tested for parasites, and most of the investigation focused on tracing suspected products through the food chain.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services also announced that prepackaged salad mix was the source of its Cyclospora outbreak, which has sickened 78 people in the state so far. Its investigation found that the salad mix, which contained iceberg and romaine lettuce along with carrots and red cabbage, came through national distribution channels, with no indication that locally grown produce was connected to the outbreak.
So far it's not clear if Cyclospora illnesses in other states are linked to the same source. Public health authorities are pursuing all leads. So far Texas investigators have not determined a common source of exposure linking the state's Cyclospora illnesses. Florida epidemiologists also don't have conclusive evidence of a common food item that the state's Cyclospora patients consumed.
So far it's not clear which ingredient was contaminated or if any of the salad components came from imported sources. Cyclospora infections are rare, and past outbreaks have been linked to imported vegetables and fruits. No prepackaged salad products have been recalled as yet.
The only new location that was reported is outstate New York, which notified the CDC of a case in a patient who was likely infected in another state. Some states that had reported cases earlier, such as Florida, Texas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, reported additional cases.The agency has received reports of 372 Cyclospora infections from 15 states and New York City. Meanwhile,Texas health officials today announced 11 more cases beyond the CDC's total. Additional new case reported by Nebraska would raise the unofficial outbreak total to 385.

RECALLS & ALERTS
Lipari Foods of Warren, MI is recalling Wholey peeled, cooked, tail-on 31/40 count shrimp, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

About Me

Hello and welcome!
I'm Crystal - the sole creator and maintainer of this site.
I started the webpage in 1998 - just before the turn of the millenium, when everyone was talking about the disasters that were coming.